Against Eintracht Frankfurt
©IMAGO
Due to the injury of regular goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, an oddity occurred at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday in the game against Eintracht Frankfurt. Luca Philipp celebrated his Bundesliga debut at the age of 24 – his younger brother Tim Philipp took his place on the bench as a replacement.
In the history of the Bundesliga, the Philipps are the 100th pair of brothers who were each in the squad in at least one game. Only 19 of them were on the field for the same club. It will probably take some time before Luca and Tim Philipp can also be added to this list. The former had to wait behind Baumann for a Bundesliga appearance more than four years after his first squad nomination; he remained in the squad for a full 95 games without playing.
At 19 years old, his younger brother is not actually intended for the professional team yet and usually plays in the U19 – also there mostly as a replacement for Benjamin Lade (18). There is also another keeper available in Lúkas Petersson (20); the Icelander will largely be used in the second team in the Regionalliga Südwest this season.
